lionel@eiffel.DEC (Steve Lionel) (01/04/85)
>Path: decwrl!decvax!ucbvax!ucbtopaz!newton2 >Subject: Re: HiFi VCRs > >Are your unsatisfactory recordings using Beta hifi only as bad as the signal >from the cable? If so, the problem is obviously with the signal source as >you suggest. However, if the recording is mysteriously degraded look to the >possibility that leakage of high-frequency interference (most probably the >stereo pilot carrier from the FM multiplex decoder) is fooling the (little- >publicized) compandor used in so-called hi fi video recording schemes. My Sony SL-2700 came with an external filter to be attached between the outputs of my FM receiver and the inputs of the VCR for the purpose of filtering out the 19KHz stereo pilot. I've never had a problem with simulcast recordings, though I don't have cable. Some other Sony Beta Hi-Fi VCRs have a switchable filter built into the VCR itself. If you think that the FM stereo pilot signal is causing you problems (both with the compander and with the automatic level control), try to find one of these filters. BTW, companding is used in quite a few recording schemes, including dbx. Properly done, it can greatly increase the dynamic range of a recording method without noticeably degrading the signal quality. Steve Lionel